Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center


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Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains

63. Poaceae, the Grass Family

27. Spartina Schreb. -- Cordgrass

2. Spartina pectinata Link -- Prairie cordgrass

More robust than the preceding, plants mostly 7-18 dm tall; leaves flat to involute, 3-13 mm wide when flattened. Inflorescence of 4-30, 1-sided spikes, the spikes ascending or appressed, 3-10 cm long. Spikelets 8-11 mm long (excluding the awn of the second glume); glumes strongly scabrous on the keel, the first glume shorter than to equaling the lemma, acuminate or with an awn 1-5 mm long, the second glume with an awn 2-10 mm long; lemma considerably shorter than the second glume, 7-9 mm long. Jul--Sep. Shallow marshes, wet meadows, ditches, low prairie and other wet or moist places, where water is fresh to brackish, very common, often abundant; (Newf. and Que. to Alta., e WA and OR, s to NC, AR, TX and NM).


Spartina pectinata (from Hitchcock 1950).

Previous Section -- Spartina gracilis Trin. -- Alkali cordgrass
Return to Family -- Poaceae - The Grass Family
Next Section -- Sphenopholis obtusata (Michx.) Scribn. -- Prairie wedgegrass

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